The global physical vapor deposition (PVD) market was valued at USD 14.41 billion in 2015 and is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period primarily owing to the need for reliable and durable coatings in medical equipment from developing economies. PVD coatings are used for applications such as storage devices, semiconductors, and LED, which are expected to fuel the market growth over the next eight years. The shift in focus towards PV cells for the production of sustainable and clean energy is estimated to drive the global market over the forecast period.

Physical vapor deposition technology includes a process where the base material is used to form a thin coating layer on an object by evaporating and condensing the material used. Coatings comprise ceramics or metals, usually oxides, nitrides, and carbides. Technology includes electron beam, sputter deposition, evaporative deposition, physical vapor deposition, pulsed laser deposition, and cathodic arc deposition.

Policies for restricting hex chrome electroplating owing to environmental concerns in economies such as Europe and the U.S. are anticipated to boost the growth of the market. Key restraining factor of the market includes patented technologies that result in a high capital investment by the market players. Medical devices market is expected to have strong growth potential, especially from the Asia Pacific region which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12% between 2016 and 2024.

Application Insights

Application of PVD includes microelectronics, data storage, solar products, cutting tools, and medical equipment among others. Medical equipment application segment is anticipated to continue as a key application segment for this market over the projected years. This market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% from 2016 to 2024. Increasing expenditure by various governments to provide basic healthcare facilities to its population is anticipated to augment the demand for devices & equipment, subsequently driving the physical vapor depositionindustry.

Microelectronics was estimated as the largest application of the technology across the globe, accounting for 37.8% of the market share in the year 2015. This application segment is expected to witness moderate growth over the forecasted period. The presence of materials that require few coating processes is likely to result in the slow development of the market.

Utilization of the technology in solar products is estimated as the second fastest growing segment, with a CAGR of 10.2% from 2016-2024. This sector is expected to grow prominently in the Asia Pacific and Europe owing to increase in the R&D investments by both wafer and photovoltaic cell manufacturers to maintain low cost due to declining selling prices.

Category Insights

PVD equipment, materials, and services are the key market categories examined and reported in the study. PVD coating is achieved with the help of quality equipment that contributes to streamlining the process. The choice of equipment is based on the application, i.e., cutting tools, forming & punching, molding & die-casting. The PVD equipment market was estimated to be USD 8.68 billion in 2015 to reach USD 18.31 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% between 2016 and 2024.

The technology implements physical process including heating to produce vapor from materials, which is deposited upon the material to be coated. The conventional material used for coating purpose includes titanium, aluminum, chromium, and nitrogen.

PVD services include incorporation of technologies such as vacuum, evaporation and sputtering systems to produce wear resistance, affordable and superior quality coatings. In 2013, PVD equipment was the largest category for physical vapor deposition market accounting for 60.2% and will continue its dominance over the forecast period.

Regional Insights

The Asia Pacific physical vapor deposition market is expected to grow owing to rising interest in battery storage for small scale solar PV system. In India, China and Japan the demand is likely to continue over the next couple of years due to inadequate power infrastructure.

The European physical vapor deposition market anticipates demonstrating prospective growth over the next few years owing to growing demand for longer life products by applications that employ metallic layer coating on products to increase the life span.

North America is the pioneer in this market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% between 2016 and 2024. The region is anticipated to witness growth owing to sufficient regulatory support for encouraging domestic level private investment in the semiconductor industry.The demand for physical vapor deposition coatings in the Middle East was valued at USD 1.03 billion in 2015.